Catasauqua Borough Council voted to approve the preliminary 2023 budget during the Dec. 5 workshop meeting.

Ryan Hottenstein, senior vice president at FSL Public Finance LLC, presented the preliminary budget to council. He noted they went line by line with all the departments’ budget requests and used previous budgets to inform the new one.

Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart said there had reportedly not been much of an effort to limit spending to the budgeted amounts in the past. It was also said previous councils would surpass the budgeted amounts and move funds around from different areas.

Eckhart said this will not occur on his watch. He said he will be expecting regular reports from the borough departments, explaining exactly where the funds are going, in order to keep a close eye on expenses. He said he will be working to hold the line on the budget.

After changes made during and after the meeting, the 2023 budget has expected revenues at $7,415,930 and expenses at $7,415,605. That is a $325 difference.

The real estate tax amount of $4,859,430 was calculated assuming a 92% collection rate at 15.685 mills. Combined with other taxes, the total tax revenue is expected to be $5,865,180, which is a $2 million difference from the 2022 budget.

Other sources of revenue include rents and royalties, sanitation fees, zoning, licenses and more. It was noted one of the biggest differences was the borough no longer receiving American Rescue Plan funds, for a decrease of $345,356.

During the budget presentation, council members looked at some of the highest amounts and worked to cut them. For example, the expected amount for engineering services, based off the 2022 numbers, was $500,000. It was noted the borough is not planning a lot of additional work requiring engineer services, since most of that work was performed in 2022. They cut the budget amount to $225,000.

Eckhart noted there are 31 current projects in the borough. He said he wants to better manage these projects by prioritizing a couple at a time and getting them finished before moving on to anything new.

Additionally, the solicitor fee was trimmed to $85,000. It was noted council members should be limiting their emails and calls to the solicitor to help keep costs down. They can either hold their questions until the monthly meetings or use Eckhart as a go-between to help manage those exchanges and fees.

Another cut council made was to the police department’s overtime budget. The original overtime amount was $175,000, and council trimmed it to $120,000.

Police Chief Douglas Kish noted he is concerned about cutting too much in case the department runs into another issue where an officer is injured and the others need to fill in. Hottenstein also cautioned against council limiting too much to avoid causing changes to the level of service the police can provide the residents.

In looking at the public works and streets expenses, council made a major cut regarding street repairs. There was originally $200,000 planned for the annual street construction program. As the planned repairs for 2022 were finished, council questioned if this was even necessary.

It was mentioned they have nothing planned for the street construction program for 2023, so they got rid of that expense item.

Some of those funds were reallocated to the paving material and pothole, crack seal and line painting material line items in case something unexpected happens and repairs are needed.

These changes dropped the expected expense of $784,978 to the current requested budget of $600,978.

The budget amount for the George Taylor House was cut drastically from $20,600 in 2022 to the 2023 budget of $7,600. These costs are for maintenance, electric, the alarm system and some capital construction.

The shade tree commission expenses were cut from the $6,940 budget in 2022 to the 2023 budget request of $1,150 for planting and removal, supplies and dues or subscriptions.

Additionally, the Catasauqua Main Streets business organization was cut completely from the budget. Eckhart said he met with Main Streets organizer Kim Brubaker after the cut to discuss the importance of the organization and its work in the borough. Brubaker can request budget funds in future years.

The code enforcement costs increased $23,300 for the 2023 budget request of $125,000. Eckhart noted the administration is working on hiring a code enforcement officer and training the person to do the work in-house. In future years, the hope is this will save the borough money.

At the Dec. 5 meeting, council members agreed this was just a preliminary budget and changes could still occur. It was noted council can continue trimming in some areas to make more cuts and a final decision on whether or not to raise taxes wouldn’t be made until the Dec. 19 meeting when the final 2023 budget will be approved.

Hottenstein, during a Dec. 9 phone call, said council has been very transparent about the budget process. He said it is important to note borough council and the administration are taking the budget process very seriously and working to rectify past problems.

He said there were concerns about assumptions made with past councils and budgets versus looking at realistic needs. This led to the financial concerns the borough is currently working through, he added.

He said council and the administration have been open and conservative in working to formulate this budget. He said the current council understands it might be difficult but is going to try and create a reasonable plan for the borough moving forward.

The preliminary 2023 budget is available for public review at the borough municipal complex, 90 Bridge St.